Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $173.63 and last traded at $173.23, with a volume of 87327 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $171.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective (up from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.09.

Raymond James Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.96 and a 200-day moving average of $139.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $35.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total value of $571,554.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at $13,319,326.02. This trade represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Raymond James by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its position in Raymond James by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 14,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Raymond James

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.